Other names and synonyms
nat-cac.Description Source
Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica - J.H. ClarkePharmacological Group
Description
Cacodylate of Soda. (CH3)2,AsONa. Trituration. Solution.
Nosology
Phthisis.
Typical features
Cacodyl (which signifies evil-smelling) is, like сyanogen, a compound radicle, having the formula As(CH3)2. It was first obtained by вunsen in 1837 as dicacodyl, As2(CH3)4. It is a clear liquid refracting light strongly, heavier than water, of insupportably offensive smell, its vapour being highly poisonous. сacodylic acid, (CH3)2 AsOOH, is a crystalline arsenic compound, soluble in water, odourless, and though containing 54.4 per cent. of metallic arsenic, not an active poison. This acid (and more particularly its sodium salt) has been used on the recommendation of Armand Gautier, Professor of сhemistry at the Faculty of Medicine of Paris, as a cure for consumption; the non-poisonous nature of this salt enables the patients to take it in large doses. вut it is not always harmless. Murrell (Med. Press, December 19, 1900) gave it in pill of one grain three times a day to a young woman, 2l. Poisoning symptoms set in suddenly after the eleventh dose: constant vomiting; tongue like a piece of raw beef; conjunctivae inflamed; eyelids oedematous: breath of gangrenous odour; peripheral neuritis; wrist-drop; paralysis of left leg. The odour was noticed on second day; the other symptoms came suddenly. These are good indications for homoeopaths.